Here's a little bit about me. (If you have some time on your hands, you can read more about me on Bert's Bio page.)

When it comes to writing, here's what I can tell you: When I was in school, I never thought I'd be a writer—an astronaut maybe, but never a writer! But I can remember thinking about writing a lot. The very first time I can remember thinking about writing was at a family get-together. My grandmother talked about the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. Turns out, we're related, but trying to figure out exactly how gets confusing fast! (Too many branches in this family tree!) When my grandmother (Clara) was a young girl, she and her friends walked by Whittier's home on the way home after school, and if he was sitting out on his porch, he'd sometimes stop the children and recite a short poem. Pretty cool!

In school, I didn't love writing, but I did love hearing stories and reading about all sorts of adventures. My grandfather was a sea captain, and I used to love sitting on the floor as he sat in his rocking chair, smoking his pipe, and telling exciting (and sometimes hilarious) tales of life at sea.

By the time I got into sixth grade, I was writing plays with my siblings and friends, and then we'd then act them out with puppets.

But it took another ten years or so for me to realize that telling stories was something I wanted to do. And I've been playing (and working) with words ever since!

AJ and the Keeper of the Dead

“AJ stumbled forward. He didn't even bother to look back at the others; instead, he stared into the cemetery, into the pitch black, trying to make his legs move. He was going to be walking over dead bodies—in the dark. He pictured a garden of ghostly hands poking up through the ground, grabbing for him...”

Sometimes twelve-year-old AJ Montgomery doesn't make the best decisions, and somehow his dad always finds out. And if that happens, AJ knows he's going to be sorry—really sorry! When AJ steps through gates of the local cemetery, he knows it's the last thing in the world his dad would want him to do. There will be consequences. But just what consequences, he can't begin to imagine.

The stone building that became the model for a similar building in this story.

Next Release:

Left Turn to Yesterday

Nothing feels right to thirteen-year-old Ryan Matthews. Terrifying nightmares only make things worse. But when a secretive museum guide gives him a strange, old watch, he is suddenly transported back to 1895. In a flash everything seems better–even without video games or electric lights. Drawn by mysterious forces, he finds himself working as a cabin boy on a fishing schooner. The only problem is Ryan knows all about this particular fishing boat, including the fact that her first voyage to the Grand Banks is doomed, and that changes everything.

When Ryan tries to return to his own time, he finds nothing is the way it is supposed to be. Something he has done has horribly altered history. His own family doesn’t even exist.

There's only one way to fix time, and Ryan's the only one who can fix it, but it will mean he'll have to sail on that schooner and make a terrible sacrifice. What will he decide to do? What would you decide?

Watch for it!

Coming to amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Watch for the release date!

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Welcome

Here's a little bit about me. (If you have some time on your hands, you can read more about me on Bert's Bio page.)

When it comes to writing, here's what I can tell you: When I was in school, I never thought I'd be a writer—an astronaut maybe, but never a writer! But I can remember thinking about writing a lot. The very first time I can remember thinking about writing was at a family get-together. My grandmother talked about the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. Turns out, we're related, but trying to figure out exactly how gets confusing fast! (Too many branches in this family tree!) When my grandmother (Clara) was a young girl, she and her friends walked by Whittier's home on the way home after school, and if he was sitting out on his porch, he'd sometimes stop the children and recite a short poem. Pretty cool!

In school, I didn't love writing, but I did love hearing stories and reading about all sorts of adventures. My grandfather was a sea captain, and I used to love sitting on the floor as he sat in his rocking chair, smoking his pipe, and telling exciting (and sometimes hilarious) tales of life at sea.

By the time I got into sixth grade, I was writing plays with my siblings and friends, and then we'd then act them out with puppets.

But it took another ten years or so for me to realize that telling stories was something I wanted to do. And I've been playing (and working) with words ever since!

AJ and the Keeper of the Dead

“AJ stumbled forward. He didn't even bother to look back at the others; instead, he stared into the cemetery, into the pitch black, trying to make his legs move. He was going to be walking over dead bodies—in the dark. He pictured a garden of ghostly hands poking up through the ground, grabbing for him...”

Sometimes twelve-year-old AJ Montgomery doesn't make the best decisions, and somehow his dad always finds out. And if that happens, AJ knows he's going to be sorry—really sorry! When AJ steps through gates of the local cemetery, he knows it's the last thing in the world his dad would want him to do. There will be consequences. But just what consequences, he can't begin to imagine.

The stone building that became the model for a similar building in this story.

Next Release:

Left Turn to Yesterday

Nothing feels right to thirteen-year-old Ryan Matthews. Terrifying nightmares only make things worse. But when a secretive museum guide gives him a strange, old watch, he is suddenly transported back to 1895. In a flash everything seems better–even without video games or electric lights. Drawn by mysterious forces, he finds himself working as a cabin boy on a fishing schooner. The only problem is Ryan knows all about this particular fishing boat, including the fact that her first voyage to the Grand Banks is doomed, and that changes everything.

When Ryan tries to return to his own time, he finds nothing is the way it is supposed to be. Something he has done has horribly altered history. His own family doesn’t even exist.

There's only one way to fix time, and Ryan's the only one who can fix it, but it will mean he'll have to sail on that schooner and make a terrible sacrifice. What will he decide to do? What would you decide?

Watch for it!

Coming to amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Watch for the release date!